Kathryn O'Kell was born in England in 1965. She studied at the Wolverhampton Polytechnic and Mid-Cheshire College of Art & Design.
Working mainly with English lime, Kathryn makes carved wooden panels using the fluid imagery of birds and fish to pursue her interests in composition, movement, texture and colour. When carving Kathryn works directly in the wood using hand tools. She tends not to make finished designs first, preferring to respond to the carvings as it develops. Any colouring develops gradually as paint is layered and rubbed back, metal leaf can be added and surfaces are burnished until the desired effect is achieved. The carved marks are also important and the use of paint emphasises the actual process of carving.